ReportWire

Tag: Israeli security forces

  • Various foreign ministers condemn Israel’s West Bank measures as unlawful expansion

    [ad_1]

    “Changes are wide-ranging, reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land’, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further Israeli administration,” said the statement.

    The foreign ministers of Brazil, France, Spain, Turkey, and various other states condemned Israeli decisions that they said introduce sweeping extensions to unlawful Israeli control over the West Bank.

    “Changes are wide-ranging, reclassifying Palestinian land as so-called Israeli ‘state land’, accelerating illegal settlement activity, and further entrenching Israeli administration,” said the joint statement, issued late on Monday by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

    Other countries that signed the statement included Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar, as well as the heads of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

    Israel’s cabinet on February 15 approved further measures to tighten Israel’s control over the West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a “de facto annexation.”

    The West Bank is among the territories that Palestinians seek for an independent future state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

    An Israeli flag flutters, as part of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim is visible in the background, in the West Bank, August 14, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

    Joint statement says decisions to annex WB violate international law

    The joint statement said the settlements and decisions designed to further them are “a flagrant violation of international law” and a step towards “unacceptable de facto annexation.”

    It said they also undermine the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the region and threaten any meaningful prospect of regional integration.

    The West Bank annexation theme has been widely discussed worldwide, sparking diverse opinions on how Israel should address the matter.

    Last week, the UN convened for a discussion to deal with the Israeli government‘s decisions to promote the further entrenchment of control in the West Bank.

    The session was initiated by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. The foreign ministers of Britain, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain are expected to participate.

    Israel was represented at the meeting by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who is expected to meet with US Ambassador to the UN Mike Walz prior to the session.

    “Gaza must not get stuck in a no-man’s-land between peace and war,” Cooper stated, in reference to repeated ceasefire violations and Israeli strikes.

    She also described the uptick in settler violence against West Bank Palestinians as “deeply, deeply wrong,” as well as calling it counterproductive to the potential for future peace.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • IDF, police conduct operation against criminal, terror operatives in Kafr Aqab, northern Jerusalem

    [ad_1]

    IDF and police officers carried out a large operation in Kafr Aqab, seizing weapons and stolen vehicles, arresting suspects, and dispersing violent riots linked to terror and crime groups.

    The IDF, aided by Border Police, Israel Police, and the Jerusalem Municipality, carried out an operation to mitigate the risk of a terror attack from elements in Kafr Aqab, northern Jerusalem, in recent weeks, Walla reported on Thursday.

    The military’s Binyamin Regional Brigade carried out the operation to locate weapons, rioters, and individuals wanted for police investigations.

    The military also issued fines to businesses and demolished illegally built structures.

    Locals, including individuals involved in criminal organizations, rioted in response to the operation, including throwing Molotov cocktails and stones at the soldiers and police officers, and burning trash containers.

    Soldiers and police officers employed riot dispersal measures to control the crowd. At least three rioters were injured during the incident.

    An IDF soldier during an operation in Kafr Aqab, December 2025. (credit: VIA WALLA)

    During the search operation, Israeli security forces located at least eight weapons, 15 cars and motorcycles stolen from Israel, and other illegal goods worth hundreds of thousands of shekels.

    In recent weeks, security forces have arrested at least 40 terrorists, including Hamas operatives, weapons traffickers, explosive manufacturers, and stone throwers.

    The military will continue acting to prevent the activity and development of crime organizations and criminals, a senior IDF officer in the region told Walla.

    Some of the forces moved in unarmored vehicles in accordance with operational control of the area. The engineering activity to demolish illegal structures, which had been planned to take place over ten hours, was shortened to just four hours due to the high level of security, the officer stated, adding that the forces operated freely.

    Kafr Aqab closer to Ramallah than Jerusalem

    Kafr Aqab is an Arab neighborhood in the far north of the Jerusalem Municipality, on the northern side of the West Bank security barrier, near Ramallah. Residents are eligible to carry Israeli ID cards.

    Criminal organizations are known to operate in the area, trading in drugs, stolen vehicles, and weapons.

    Terrorists have previously operated from Kafr Aqab to carry out attacks on Israelis.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Israel foils second Gaza flotilla in a week, activists say vessels were under attack

    [ad_1]

    The Gaza Freedom Flotilla claimed that the Israeli military was jamming signals and had boarded at least two boats. The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

    Israel said Wednesday it thwarted another attempt to breach its maritime blockade of Gaza, intercepting a flotilla of nine vessels organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The boats, carrying about 100 activists, had sailed from Italy two weeks ago.

    “Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted. “The vessels and the passengers are transferred to an Israeli port. All the passengers are safe and in good health. The passengers are expected to be deported promptly.”

    The passengers detained are “expected to be deported promptly,” the ministry added.

    Earlier on Wednesday, the Gaza Freedom Flotilla said its vessels were under attack by the Israeli military, with several boats intercepted while sailing toward the Gaza Strip.

    The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the flotilla said on Instagram.

    A screengrab from live footage shows an Israeli soldier smashing the CCTV camera of ”Gaza Sunbird”, a Gaza-bound vessel which is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, with a gun as the boat is intercepted by Israeli security forces, in this screengrab obtained from a video released on October 8, 2025. (credit: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Handout via REUTERS)

    The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

    The interception follows a series of similar maritime confrontations in recent weeks. On Thursday, Israel stopped the 42-ship Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried 479 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. Nearly all of those detained have since been deported.

    Documents found in Gaza and released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry traced direct Hamas involvement in organizing and financing the Sumud flotilla to break the Israeli blockade of the Strip. Israel said the boats carried no aid and accused participants of seeking confrontation rather than delivering humanitarian relief.

    Only seven activists remain in custody, including a Spanish national accused of biting an Israel Prison Service officer.

    Israel and Egypt have maintained restrictions on Gaza to prevent weapons smuggling since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Since then, Palestinian activists have periodically launched flotillas to challenge the blockade. In 2011, an independent UN inquiry into the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident criticized Israeli forces for using excessive force but upheld the blockade’s legality.

    Approximately 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 48 remaining hostages, about 20 are believed to be alive.

    [ad_2]

    Source link